I am standing as the next Director General of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry). Informed by both my practical experience in building a global asset management business investing in companies worldwide, as well as academic expertise as a Visiting Fellow in Business and Industry at Oxford University, whoever is the next Prime Minister, these would be my messages to him – ambitious, stretching goals which can be attained:
Deficit
As an economist, award winning investor, I know it is essential to cut the deficit, because debt payments are a poor way to spend taxpayer money, we must ensure our focus of spending is on investment, and cuts do not fall on essential investment, but instead on inefficiencies, unproductive waste. What kind of investment is essential? All levels of research and development because the amount of intellectual property a country produces is directly related to its wealth.
Europe
Britain is clearly one of the best places to do business and an essential market for the EU and vice versa. But the waste in Europe has to be addressed first and foremost before the UK’s contributions are ever raised. We must push for more liberalisation across the EU for UK’s world leading service firms – with industry specific deadlines managed by the biggest firms having a vested interest lobbying in concert with Government. I want the Government to set specific targets and timelines to make their goals clear to the EU and the British people so we can better understand our relationship with the EU.
High Growth Markets
Working each week for Britain as both a businessman and a Government representative, I know we must have more liberalisation for greater market access by British companies into high growth markets such as India. We must push for this through not just even more of what we already do (through UKTI, FCO) but also expert assistance to those countries on how such countries can better liberalise. The Treasury must ring-fence the budget of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, and UKTI within it as revenue generating Departments which seek to close market failures and boost British exports and investments into the UK.
Exports
I’ve worked with our Government Export Advisors and Government efforts to boost SME exports. We need far more education to teach British companies how to export, by businesses who have done it. There is a market failure borne of a knowledge gap here that must be a top priority.
Investments
As someone who has brought in millions in inward investment into the UK from around the globe, I know what resonates best is both bilateral trade organisations such as UK India Business Council, and also business persons who make clear the benefits of doing business in Britain as investors.
High Growth British Businesses
As someone working closely with high growth British companies and an investor in them, a key factor to their continued growth has to be banks willingness to lend. Far greater pressure needs to be brought to bear on banks to lend to such businesses, and we need to expand Government schemes until that happens.
Start-up British Companies
As an entrepreneur with successful start-ups under his belt and a mentor of them, whilst banks fail to meet the demand of business for financing, expansion of loans to start-up businesses is vital to help them get off the ground. There will be failures, but it is far better those entrepreneurs gain skills in failing, than the ones they would miss on benefits.
Youth Education
As an entrepreneur who started whilst at school I cannot overstate the importance of ensuring we teach basic entrepreneurship skills at school. We are a capitalist economy, whatever your eventual profession, it is vital you understand what business does for the country.
Jobs
As an author of a book on women entrepreneurs, my studies conclude that we must Increase the supply of women to the workforce, parents and the low paid by greater childcare provision and cutting tax on the lowest income.
Tax
As the founder of companies in Britain and around the world, including those countries which attract investments because of their tax rates, we must ensure the UK is the most competitive place to establish a business amongst our peer group countries – not compared to tax havens, nor compared to the most highly taxed economies either. These are just an outline of how we get long-term growth, wealth creation, jobs and a stable economy serving everyone from the student and low paid to the high growth executive.
